Sunflower Seeds
You can blame Fox Mulder for my penchant for sunflower seeds. Where Popeye failed in introducing me to healthy food (no matter how you disguise it, spinach is spinach is spinach) Mulder succeeded (literally) in tempting me into the art of nutritious nibbling.
Some lovely facts about sunflower seeds:
- They are a rich source of potassium.
- They are high in protein, unsaturated fats, calcium, iron, and phosphorus.
- They are rich in B vitamins, especially B6
- They are high in zinc which plays a critical role in the health of the adrenal glands.
It would seem that during times of stress the levels of these nutrients plummet, indicating that the good old sunflower seed can reduce my stress levels (and yours too obviously) allowing me to be calm and composed should Duchovny call at my door.
Sunflower seeds are easy to purchase. Tesco for example sell 100g bags for 33p and 300g bags for 89p. Holland and Barrett sell a 250g bag of organic sunflower seeds for £1.79.
I find they are a great substitute for the chocolate/crisps snack-attacks. They are great for keeping by the side of the computer allowing me to nibble away in a guilt free fashion. They are also the type of snack that can help those trying to give up smoking, whilst at the same time attempting to avoid the nasty weight gain that comes with the quitting. If it’s the hand/mouth thing that tempts you back to the old ciggies then try this out – get healthy whilst getting healthy!
Here’s a recipe for you
Stuffed Peppers
- Ingredients
- 4 ounce long-grain brown rice
- pinch of salt (optional) and Black pepper
- 4 large sweet peppers
- 3 tablespoons of margarine or butter
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 ounce celery – chopped finely
- 4 ounce sunflower seeds
- parsley and oregano
- 2 eggs- lightly beaten
- green chile – finely chopped
- 4 ounce grated cheese
- Method
- Cook the rice until tender. Drain and set to one side
- Cut the peppers in half, removing the seeds. Parboil for 5 minutes.
- Oil a baking dish and arrange the peppers.
- Sauté the onion, celery and sunflower seeds in the margarine (or butter)
- Remove from heat and stir into the rice.
- Add the parsley, oregano, eggs, chiles, salt and black pepper.
- Now fill the peppers with the mixture and put the grated cheese on top
- Bake in the oven gas mark 4 to 5, 180oC, 350oF for about 20 minutes.
